Generally the invention deals with a shelf stable liquid or paste sauce (oil in water) emulsion consisting of high salt and solids in conjunction with acidulants. Traditionally salt, solids and acid content were limiting factors for producing emulsion stable systems. The sauce can be used by itself or in conjunction with a two component cooking system for skillet or oven use.
Many products have been developed to assist in cooking meat or other protein, including liquid sauces.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,300 teaches a method and natural flavoring composition to impart deep-fried flavor without adding fat. The composition is used to coat a product to be cooked.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,376 teaches a sauce for coating foods to give them a brown color and crisp texture when used with a microwave oven.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,124 teaches a dry mix which can be applied to moistened meat pieces. The mix then liquefies to produce a thickened gravy or sauce on cooking.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,424,088 discloses a specially prepared combined starch-natural gum composition. This composition is used as a thickening agent.
The art has not successfully addressed the problem of a stable, extremely high solids emulsified sauce mix containing high levels of salt. A further constraint is that the emulsion must be shelf stable, freeze thaw stable, vibration stable and must be capable of dilution without complete separation or breaking.
It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a high solids, high salt, acidified, emulsified sauce which substantially reduces the problems of the art. This has been accomplished with the result that this sauce, as used in a functionally related combination, is very easy to use and produces excellent results and fresh taste on cook up of the end product.
Certain sauces must be liquid or fluid because of the delicacy of the flavors involved. Drying the flavor and seasoning components of the sauce significantly alters their flavor profile and reduces the perception of freshness. In addition, certain, sometimes irreversible, physical changes take place on drying.
Further, the sauce should contain a highly concentrated emulsion which must be easy to dilute on use. The emulsion, which can be a liquid or a paste, must be stable enough for dilution without breaking and further, the diluted emulsion itself must be stable enough to be heated after dilution. In addition, the emulsion must be sufficiently vibration, freeze-thaw and heat stable to allow shipment and storing in normal commercial channels.
The emulsion must also be microbiologically stable, which in turn requires a pH of 4.5 or less since the emulsion, to be fluid, will have a water activity of about 0.7 to 0.85. The pH adjustment for microbiological stability in turn could easily render many versions of the sauce too acidic for most tastes, especially dairy based sauces. Stability of the emulsion is also important in the stored product because if the emulsion breaks, localized pockets of high water activity may result, which in turn could result in microbiological instability.
It has now been found that a high solids, high salt emulsion can be prepared to be used in a functionally interrelated combination with a dry, particulate, seasoning mix preferably containing a buffer. The emulsified sauce mix can be prepared and used with the advantage of having good stability to dilution as well as to necessary freeze/thaw-heat cycles and centrifugation. To remedy the acid taste, a buffer is usually and preferably added to the seasoning mix to counteract the acidity of the sauce/diluted sauce emulsion. Further, the sauce mix is very microbiologically stable. It actually causes a 5 log decrease in organisms during a normal challenge test and thus pasteurization is not necessary.